Contemporary fiction titles are those which focus on the present or near past. Stories rooted in the current cultural, social, and political landscape which feature characters we can all recognise.
Contemporary Fiction Books
HarperCollins Publishers AN EXPERIMENT IN LOVE 1
Book SynopsisFollowing A Change in Climate', this brilliant novel from the double Man Booker prize-winning author of Wolf Hall' is a coming-of-age tale set in Seventies London.It is London, 1970. Carmel McBain, in her first term at university, has cut free of her childhood roots in the north. Among the gossiping, flirtatious girls of Tonbridge Hall, she begins her experiments in life and love. But the year turns. The mini-skirt falls out of style and an era of concealment begins. Carmel's world darkens, and tragedy waits in the wings.Trade Review‘The most powerful of her novels, a near-faultless masterpiece of pathos, observation and feeling … She writes like an angel.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘Hilary Mantel is a wonderfully unsurprised dissector of human motivation, and in An Experiment in Love she has written a bleak tale seamed with crackling wit.’ Helen Dunmore, Observer ‘Funny, tragic and wondefully perceptive, this is a book to be treasured, for the sheer quality of its writing and for its honesty.’ Independent ‘Mantel writes prose of imperturbable aplomp, crisp with irony and highlighted with deftly places, elegantly surprising images … she has a penchant for caustic, spiky heroines and a sardonic ear for dialogue.’ Sunday Times ‘My favourite novel of the year: An Experiment in Love is written with subtle perceptiveness, sharp wit and canny wisdom’ Margaret Forster, Independent ‘Cool unsentimental, and unassumingly authoritative.’ Anita Brookner, Spectator ‘The time is 1970, and it is wonderfully well evoked … The skill with which Mantel manages her time-shifts, the precision of her writing, the acuteness of her observations, the seriousness of her themes, and the way in which she weaves them into a coherant whole, make this an unusually satisfying novel.’ Allan Massie, Scotsman ‘An Experiment in Love has much to say about its turbulant era, and is replete with the atmosphere of the cusp, with the prospect of irreversible change … It is also a profoundly sad novel, to which Mantel’s liberal sense of comedy and dazzling acuity for metaphor add an almost excruciating flavour.’ Rachel Cusk, The Times
£9.49
Granta Books Everything Ravaged, Everything Burned
Book SynopsisA man is thrown out of his home after his wife discovers that the sweat-smudged footprint on the inside of his windscreen doesn't match her own. Teenage cousins, drugged by summer, meet with a reckoning in the woods. A boy runs off to the carnival after his stepfather bites him in a brawl. In the stories of Wells Tower, families fall apart and messily, hilariously try to reassemble themselves. His characters - marauding Vikings, washed-up entrepreneurs and jobbing hacks on local papers - are adrift from the mainstream, confused by contemporary masculinity, angry and aimless. Combining electric prose with compassion and dark wit, this is a major debut.Trade ReviewTower's prose is muscular and poetic with an almost vertiginous momentum and his characters teeter on the brink of emotional collapse ... This is a collection that, for once, lives up to the hype. Watch out for Wells * Sunday Times *Short stories exploring love, violence and the fear that has us lying, eyes open, in the dark. An extraordinary debut and a sensitive, surprising voice * The Times Review *Reading them, you are reminded of how Richard Ford, a master of the craft, once proposed the quality of "audacity" as the defining characteristic of perfect short stories, suggesting that they were always "the high-wire act of literature". In this sense, Tower certainly makes you crane your neck * Observer *Like David Foster Wallace, Tower taps into what lies beneath, often comically. There are dazzling points of light and compassion in the darkness * Independent on Sunday *The failed American dream is frequently picked over in literature, but this debut collection of short stories will make you feel you've never read about it before ... the disarming honesty and startling imagery make each tale an intense, articulate and near-tangible nugget of cultural disaffection * Sunday Telegraph *Stories from modern America - angry young men, mellow young men, troubled teenage girls, sons visiting demented fathers - by an edgy, ultra-realist young writer. * The Times *Towers is an original, with an extraordinary way with words * The Times *
£11.69
Zondervan The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass on Tour
Book SynopsisWe got our first taste of Adrian Plass's outrageous humour in The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Age 37 and The Sacred Diary of Adrian Plass, Age 45 . With over 2 million copies sold, these beloved bestsellers naturally placed the author's fanciful alter-ego in great demand as an inspirational speaker. And of course, his touring experiences have led to all-new stories to share with his friends. This sequel to the first two books will doubtless secure the Sacred Diarist's reputation as a spiritual authority. It's probably not the reputation he's hoping for, but it's the perfect medium for a bucketful of laughter. So meet the speaker, meet the crew and take a seat. It's time to join Adrian Plass on tour! Anne seems to think it would be a good idea to let people see some of the diary entries I've written in connection with the little seven-day speaking tour that she and I have just done On that innocent note, Adrian Plass whisks us along on one of the zaniest tours in his career as a C
£12.28
Alma Books Ltd The Captains Daughter
Book SynopsisSet during the Pugachov rebellion against Catherine the Great, The Captain's Daughter was Pushkin's only completed novel and remains one of his most popular works. The inexperienced and impetuous young nobleman Pyotr Grinyev is sent on military service to a remote fortress, where he falls in love with Masha, Captain Mironov's daughter but then the ruthless Cossack Pugachov lays siege to the stronghold, setting in motion a tragic train of events.This volume also contains another work by Pushkin on the same theme, A History of Pugachov, which presents an impartial, meticulously researched history of the revolt, but was regarded in aristocratic circles as subversive on its publication. Together, these two works provide a fascinating insight into the character of the peasant who tried to overthrow an empress, written with the clarity and insight of Russia's greatest poet.
£8.54
HarperCollins Publishers Twelve Days of Christmas
Book SynopsisTrisha’s bestselling Christmas book will have you hooked from start to finish – the perfect read as those cold winter nights draw in. Christmas has always been a sad time for young widow Holly Brown. So when she's asked to look after a remote house on the Lancashire moors, the opportunity to hide herself away is irresistible – the perfect excuse to forget about the festivities. The owner of the house, Jude Martland, is also avoiding Christmas since the last one saw his brother run off with his fiancee. But forced to return home unexpectedly, Jude arrives to find that his family are running amok – with Holly seemingly at the centre of it all. As the blizzards descend, there is no escape. With nowhere to go, Holly and Jude get much more than they bargained for – and a Christmas they will always remember!Trade Review‘This is the perfect novel to snuggle up with on a cold winter’s night.’ Closer ‘A lovely, cosy read.’ My Weekly ‘As warm as a glass of mulled wine on a cold winter’s night.’ Lancashire Evening News
£8.99
Oxford University Press The Oxford Book of Short Stories
Book SynopsisV. S. Pritchett, one our greatest short-story writers, has chosen forty-one stories written in the English language for this volume, producing a collection that successfully displays the wealth and variety of an art that spans some 200 years. Great Britain, America, and especially Eire have fine traditions of short-story writing that have developed from the time of Sir Walter Scott and Nathaniel Hawthorne, while in the last century the art was perfected by Ernest Hemingway, D. H. Lawrence, W. Somerset Maugham, John Updike, and V. S. Pritchett himself. The Irish contribution includes such masters as James Joyce, Frank O''Connor, and Liam O''Flaherty, and stories by Canadian, Indian, New Zealand, and Australian writers show the full range of invention and ability in a genre that continues to flourish.Trade ReviewReview from previous edition Look for this book at airport departure lounge bookshops and guarantee youself a good flight. * Evening Echo *Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION; REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS; INDEX OF AUTHORS
£11.39
Oxford University Press The Custom of the Country
Book SynopsisEdith Wharton''s satiric anatomy of American society in the first decade of the twentieth century appeared in 1913; it both appalled and fascinated its first reviewers, and established her as a major novelist. The Saturday Review wrote that she had ''assembled as many detestable people as it is possible to pack between the covers of a six-hundred page novel'', but concluded that the book was ''brilliantly written'', and ''should be read as a parable''.It follows the career of Undine Spragg, recently arrived in New York from the midwest and determined to conquer high society. Glamorous, selfish, mercenary and manipulative, her principal assets are her striking beauty, her tenacity, and her father''s money. With her sights set on an advantageous marriage, Undine pursues her schemes in a world of shifting values, where triumph is swiftly followed by dissullusion.Wharton was recreating an environment she knew intimately, and Undine''s education for social success is chronicled in meticulouTrade Review'Wharton captures with masterly ease the world of post-Civil War America in this brilliantly-written and highly-entertaining novel.' Charles Osborne, Sunday Telegraph
£8.54
Penguin Books Ltd After Rain Stories
Book SynopsisAfter Rain - Twelve remarkable stories by the master storyteller William Trevor ''There is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world'' Wall Street JournalIn this collection of twelve dazzling, acutely rendered tales, William Trevor plumbs the depths of the human heart. Here we encounter a blind piano tuner whose wonderful memories of his first wife are cruelly distorted by his second; a woman in a difficult marriage who must choose between her indignant husband and her closest friend; two children, survivors of divorce, who mimic their parents'' melodramas; and a heartbroken woman traveling alone in Italy who experiences an epiphany while studying a forgotten artist''s Annunciation. Trevor is, in his own words, ''a storyteller. My fiction may, now and again, illuminate aspects of the human condition, but I do not consciously set out to do so.'' Conscious or not, he touches us in ways that few writers even dare to try.Trade Review"There is no better short story writer in the English-speaking world."—Wall Street Journal"Everyone will have his own list of the best short stories. Mine includes most of Chekhov, one or two by James Joyce, a dozen or more from D. H. Lawrence and -- in this same vein -- a healthy selection from William Trevor. This Irish-born, English-domiciled writer, who is also an excellent novelist, gave us his ''Collected Stories'' a few years back. Now, as if to assure us that the well is far from dry, he offers a luminously disturbing new collection, ''After Rain.'' -- Wendy Lesser, The New York Times Book Review"The deft handling of information, as well as the exquisite sense of control, again show Trevor as a brilliant master of his craft." - Publishers Weekly (Starred) "Dependably brilliant work from one of Chekhov's most accomplished disciples." - Kirkus ReviewsTable of ContentsAfter Rain The Piano Tuner's WivesA FriendshipTimothy's BirthdayChild's PlayA Bit of BusinessAfter RainWidowsGilbert's MotherThe Potato DealerLost GroundA DayMarrying Damian
£9.49
Benediction Classics Hypnerotomachia Poliphili: The Strife of Love in a Dream (Paperback)
£10.90
Penguin Putnam Inc A Brief History of Seven Killings (Booker Prize
Book Synopsis
£14.82
Penguin Publishing Group Growing Up Ethnic in America
Book Synopsis
£15.20
MacAdam/Cage Publishing Salt Rain
Book Synopsis
£6.64
Pan Macmillan The Tie That Binds
Book SynopsisIn The Tie That Binds, his critically acclaimed first novel, Kent Haruf delivers the sweeping tale of eighty-year-old Edith Goodnough. Narrated by her neighbour, Edith's tragedies unfold: a tough childhood, a mother's death, a violence that leaves a father dependent on his children, forever enraged. She is a woman who sacrifices everything in the name of family - until she is forced to reclaim her freedom in one dramatic and unexpected gesture. Breathtaking and truthful, The Tie That Binds is a powerful tribute to the demands of rural life, and to the tenacity of the human spirit.
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Mason Dixon
Book SynopsisCharles Mason (1728 -1786) and Jeremiah Dixon (1733-1779) were the British Surveyors best remembered for running the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that we know today as the Mason-Dixon Line. Here is their story as re-imagined by Thomas Pynchon, in an updated eighteenth-century novel featuring Native Americans and frontier folk, ripped bodices, naval warfare, conspiracies erotic and political and major caffeine abuse. We follow the mismatch''d pair - one rollicking, the other depressive; one Gothic, the other pre-Romantic - from their first journey together to the Cape of Good Hope, to pre-Revoluntionary America and back, through the stange yet redemptive turns of fortune in their later lives, on a grand tour of the Enlightenment''s dark hemisphere, as they observe and participate in the many opportunities for insanity presented them by the Age of Reason.Trade ReviewPynchon's finest work yet...if anyone is still looking for the Great American Novel...then this may well be it -- Brian Morton * Scotland on Sunday *A rollicking, picaresque tale... playful, erudite and funny * New York Times *Very grand and mad and beautiful...I can't remember ever having reviewed a more original novel... and if America produces a novel to come near this marvellous, proliferating thing this decade, I promise to eat it -- Philip Hensher * Spectator *Pynchon offers readers a trip as long and full of yearning as that of his heroes * New Yorker *A hugely ambitous epic...show cases all of Mr Pynchon's gifts as a writer: his magical abilty to fuse history and fable, science and science fiction; his Swiftean grasp of satire and his vaudevillian's sense of farce. It's a book that testifies to his remarkable powers of invention and his sheer power as a storyteller... as moving as it is cerebral, as poignant as it is daring * New York Times *
£12.34
Cornerstone Bare Bones
Book Synopsis___________________________________A gripping Temperance Brennan novel from world-class forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the international no. 1 bestselling crime thriller writer and the inspiration behind the hit TV series Bones.During one of the hottest summers on record, Dr Temperance Brennan is haunted by a string of horrifying events.First, the bones of a newborn baby are discovered in a wood stove. The mother is nowhere to be found.Next, a plane flies into a rock face. The dead pilot and passenger are burned beyond recognition, and covered in an unknown substance.And then a store of bones is found in a remote corner of the county. What has happened, and who will be the next victim? The answers lie hidden deep within the bones - but Tempe must find them in time to stop further disaster.___________________________________Dr Kathy Reichs is a professional forensic anthropologist. She has workedTrade ReviewWith Kathy Reichs the reader knows they're in the hands of an expert * Sunday Express *You’ll want to keep turning the pages long after lights out to find out what happens next … Reichs’ real-life expertise gives her novels an authenticity that most other crime novelists would kill for * Daily Express *Reichs' seamless blending of fascinating science and dead-on psychological portrayals, not to mention a whirlwind of a plot, make [her novels] a must read * Jeffery Deaver *Reichs is not just "as good as" Cornwell, she has become the finer writer * Daily Express *Reading Reichs is always an education one way or another. There is plenty of action... but it is the detail that actually makes it gripping * Evening Standard *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Changing Places
Book SynopsisWhen Philip Swallow and Professor Morris Zapp participate in their universities' Anglo-American exchange scheme, the Fates play a hand, and each academic finds himself enmeshed in the life of his counterpart on the opposite side of the Atlantic.Trade ReviewA magnificent comic novel * Guardian *Three-star rating for a laugh a line * Evening Standard *Not since Lucky Jim has such a funny book about academic life come my way * Sunday Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone To Kill A Mockingbird
Book SynopsisHarper Lee was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama. She attended Huntington College and studied law at the University of Alabama. She is the author of the acclaimed novels To Kill a Mockingbird and Go Set a Watchman, and was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and numerous other literary awards and honours. She died on 19 February 2016.Trade ReviewLee explores with exuberant humourthe irrationality of adult attitudes to race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s. * The Week *Someone rare has written this very fine novel, a writer with the liveliest sense of life and the warmest, most authentic humour. A touching book; and so funny, so likeable. * Truman Capote *There is humour as well as tragedy in this book, besides its faint note of hope for human nature; and it is delightfully written * Sunday Times *No one ever forgets this book * Independent *One of the best novels I remember ... uniquely unsentimental * Guardian *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing Sidetracked
Book SynopsisHenning Mankell (1948-2015) became a worldwide phenomenon with his crime writing, gripping thrillers and atmospheric novels set in Africa. His prizewinning and critically acclaimed Inspector Wallander Mysteries continue to dominate bestseller lists all over the globe and his books have been translated into forty-five languages and made into numerous international film and television adaptations: most recently the BAFTA-award-winning BBC television series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh. Driven by a desire to change the world and to fight against racism and nationalism, Mankell devoted much of his time to working with charities in Africa, including SOS Children's Villages and PLAN International, where he was also director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo. In 2008, the University of St Andrews conferred Henning Mankell with an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his major contribution to literature and to the practical exercise of conscienceTrade ReviewWallander's investigations are perfectly judged to create a thrilling mood of growing tension culminating in a satisfying climax * The Times *Wonderfully bleak thrillers...somehow unremitting and gripping at the same time -- Sean French * Independent *Mankell is one of the most ingenious crime writers around. Highly recommended * Observer *Sweden's answer to Morse and Wexford * Mail on Sunday *Gripping... Expert plotting * Daily Telegraph *
£10.44
Vintage Publishing The Night Circus
Book SynopsisThe circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. The black sign, painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, reads:Opens at NightfalllCloses at DawnAs the sun disappears beyond the horizon, all over the tents small lights begin to flicker, as though the entirety of the circus is covered in particularly bright fireflies. When the tents are all aglow, sparkling against the night sky, the sign appears.Le Cirque des RêvesThe Circus of Dreams.Now the circus is open.Now you may enter.The Starless Sea, the magical second novel from the author of the The Night Circus, is available for pre-order nowTrade ReviewLush, evocative, dreamlike...a magical, coming-of-age story * Sunday Times *Dark and dreamy; a captivating love story * Stylist Magazine *The Night Circus made me happy. Playful and intensely imaginative, Erin Morgenstern has created the circus I have always longed for. This is a marvelous bookEnchanting, and affecting... A strikingly beautiful world, in spite of its darkness * Guardian *Dazzling * Marie Claire *
£8.54
Vintage Publishing The White Lioness
Book SynopsisHenning Mankell (1948-2015) became a worldwide phenomenon with his crime writing, gripping thrillers and atmospheric novels set in Africa. His prizewinning and critically acclaimed Inspector Wallander Mysteries continue to dominate bestseller lists all over the globe and his books have been translated into forty-five languages and made into numerous international film and television adaptations: most recently the BAFTA-award-winning BBC television series Wallander, starring Kenneth Branagh. Driven by a desire to change the world and to fight against racism and nationalism, Mankell devoted much of his time to working with charities in Africa, including SOS Children's Villages and PLAN International, where he was also director of the Teatro Avenida in Maputo. In 2008, the University of St Andrews conferred Henning Mankell with an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters in recognition of his major contribution to literature and to the practical exercise of conscienceTrade ReviewWell paced... A thinking man's thriller * New York Times *The real test of thrillers of this kind is whether you want to spend more time in the detective's company. I certainly do -- Sean French * Independent *Mankell is one of the most ingenious crime writers around, strong on characterisation, plotting and atmosphere. Highly recommended -- Peter Gutteridge * Observer *Superbly crafted detective stories -- Christopher Gray * Oxford Times *
£10.44
Cornerstone The Christmas Wedding
Book SynopsisThe tree is decorated, the cookies are baked, and the presents are wrapped, but the biggest celebration this Christmas is Gaby Summerhill''s wedding.Since her husband died three years ago, Gaby''s four children have drifted apart, each consumed by the turbulence of their own lives. They haven''t celebrated Christmas together since their father''s death, but when Gaby announces that she''s getting married - and that the groom will remain a secret until the wedding day - she may finally be able to bring them home for the holidays.But the wedding isn''t the only surprise - there is one more unexpected gift, and it could change all their lives for ever.With deeply affecting characters and the emotional twists of a James Patterson thriller, The Christmas Wedding is a fresh look at family and the magic of the festive season.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Love
Book SynopsisWITH AN INTRODUCTION BY AUDREY NIFFENEGGERLove is Angela Carter''s fifth novel and was first published in 1971. With surgical precision it charts the destructive emotional war between a young woman, her husband and his disruptive brother as they move through a labyrinth of betrayal, alienation and lost connections. This revised edition has lost none of Angela Carter''s haunting power to evoke the ebb of the 1960s, and includes an afterword which describes the progress of the survivors into the anguish of middle age.Trade ReviewAn excessively stylish tale about a fatal love triangle in provincial Bohemia..The novel and its afterword form a fascinating study, an erstwhile aesthetic object unravelled into realism and commitment * Guardian *Carter observes her characters with a cool detachment as if they were specimens on a slide. She catches acutely the dying throes of the love generation, when Swinging London had run to seed * New Society *Angela Carter has language at her fingertips * New Statesman *Whatever her subject, Angela Carter writes like a dream - sometimes a nightmare * Sunday Telegraph *
£7.19
Vintage Publishing Art Lies
Book Synopsis''Brave and ambitious'' Independent In a near-future London, Sappho, Picasso and Handel each set upon the same plan - to flee the city by train. Finding themselves fellow passengers, the poet, the painter and the musician discover their fates drawn together by the curious agency of a book. As stories within stories unfold and journeys intersect, another world comes to the fore - one of painful beauty, where language has the power to heal.''Winterson''s belief in love, beauty, and most of all, language, is evangelical and redemptive...it is timely and exciting to read'' Rachel Cusk, The TimesTrade ReviewIf we want language to be handled with vitality and suppleness, if we want to consider serious questions of philosophy, art and sexuality, if we want writers to aspire to beauty, then we should be glad of Jeanette Winterson...she is a writer who will continue to astonish, to please and to vex. Art & Lies does all these things -- Cressida Connolly * Literary Review *Brave and ambitious * Independent *Winterson's belief in love, beauty, and most of all, language, is evangelical and redemptive...it is timely and exciting to read -- Rachel Cusk * The Times *If we want language to be handled with vitality and suppleness, if we want to consider serious questions of philosophy, art and sexuality, if we want writers to aspire to beauty, then we should be glad of Jeanette Winterson...she is a writer who will continue to astonish, to please and to vex. Art & Lies does all these things * Literary Review *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
Book SynopsisWinner of the Whitbread Book of the Year''Outstanding...a stunningly good read'' Observer''Mark Haddon''s portrayal of an emotionally dissociated mind is a superb achievement... Wise and bleakly funny'' Ian McEwan The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is a murder mystery novel like no other. The detective, and narrator, is Christopher Boone. Christopher is fifteen and has Asperger''s Syndrome. He knows a very great deal about maths and very little about human beings. He loves lists, patterns and the truth. He hates the colours yellow and brown and being touched. He has never gone further than the end of the road on his own, but when he finds a neighbour''s dog murdered he sets out on a terrifying journey which will turn his whole world upside down.Trade ReviewWondrous...brilliantly inventive...dazzling. Not simply the most original novel I've read in years - it's also one of the best * The Times *Exceptional by any standards. Both funny and deeply moving * Sunday Telegraph *Outstanding. Heartening as well as richly entertaining. A stunningly good read * Independent *Superbly realised. A funny as well as a sad book. Brilliant * Guardian *A remarkable book. An impressive achievement and a rewarding read * Time Out *
£9.49
Cornerstone The New Watch
Book SynopsisWalking the streets of our cities are the Others. These men and women have access to the Twilight, a shadowy parallel world of magical power that exists alongside our own. Each has sworn allegiance to one side: the Light, or the Darkness.At Moscow airport, Higher Light Magician Anton Gorodetsky overhears a child screaming about a plane that is about to crash. He discovers that the child is a prophet: an Other with the gift of foretelling the future. When the catastrophe is averted, Gorodetsky senses a disruption in the natural order, one that is confirmed by the arrival of a dark and terrifying predator. Gorodetsky travels to London, to Taiwan and across Russia in search of clues, unearthing as he goes a series of increasingly cataclysmic prophecies. He soon realises that what is at stake is the existence of the Twilight itself and that only he will be able to save it.Trade ReviewThis is slick, clever, assured urban fantasy, told with style, and shot through with wry humour. * Crime Review *If you’ve been following Russkie Lukyanenko’s excellent parallel universe series you’ll have rushed out and bought this book already… the Watch books are deeper and meatier than most of their kind. * 4 star review, Weekend Sport *
£9.49
Cornerstone Merry Christmas Alex Cross
Book SynopsisJAMES PATTERSON is one of the best-known and biggest-selling writers of all time. Among his creations are some of the world's most popular series including Alex Cross, the Women's Murder Club, Michael Bennett and the Private novels. He has written many other number one bestsellers including collaborations with President Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, stand-alone thrillers and non-fiction. James has donated millions in grants to independent bookshops and has been the most borrowed adult author in UK libraries for the past fourteen years in a row. He lives in Florida with his family.Trade ReviewFast-paced and tightly plotted, this is a dramatic thriller that shows why the books in this series sell by the truckload.It's no mystery why James Patterson is the world's most popular thriller writer: his uncanny skill in creating living, breathing characters we truly feel for and seamless, lightning-fast plots. I do this for a living, and he still manages to keep me guessing from the first to last page ... Simply put: Nobody does it better.Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that no one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.James Patterson is The Boss. End of.I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed.Every once in a while a writer comes along and fundamentally changes the way people read. He or she is so bright, so innovative, so industrious that what they envision and create becomes the measure by which all others are judged. In 1993 one such writer - James Patterson - began to do just that ... James Patterson is the gold standard by which all others are judged.[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages.Alex Cross is a legend.Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination.Patterson is in a class by himself.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Speedy Death
Book SynopsisGladys Maude Winifred Mitchell or The Great Gladys' as Philip Larkin called her was born in 1901, in Cowley in Oxfordshire. She graduated in history from University College London and in 1921 began her long career as a teacher. Her hobbies included architecture and writing poetry. She studied the works of Sigmund Freud and her interest in witchcraft was encouraged by her friend, the detective novelist Helen Simpson. Her first novel, Speedy Death, was published in 1929 and introduced readers to Beatrice Adela Lestrange Bradley, the detective heroine of a further sixty six crime novels. She wrote at least one novel a year throughout her career and was an early member of the Detection Club, alongside Agatha Christie, G.K Chesterton and Dorothy Sayers.In 1961 she retired from teaching and, from her home in Dorset, continued to write, receiving the Crime Writers' Association Silver Dagger in 1976. Gladys Mitchell died in 1983.Trade ReviewShe is one of the Big Three women detective writers * Observer *Begins like a parody of a country house murder. But you soon see that the author means the jokes, and also develops both a tricky mystery and a quite solid argument about crime and its disruption of society. Then she brings it all to a head in a very remarkable conclusion. From the start, Mitchell was outstanding. * Glasgow Herald *A crime writer who, in her day, ranked with Christie and Sayers * Daily Mail *Extremely well constructed story of murder and detection...Mrs Bradley is the prize piece * Daily News *Gladys Mitchell can always be relied upon for a packed and meaty novel, and an intelligent one at that * Guardian *
£9.49
The New York Review of Books, Inc Young Man With A Horn
Book SynopsisRick Martin loved music and the music loved him. He could pick up a tune so quickly that it didn?t matter to the Cotton Club boss that he was underage, or to the guys in the band that he was just a white kid. He started out in the slums of LA with nothing, and he ended up on top of the game in the speakeasies and nightclubs of New York. But while talent and drive are all you need to make it in music, they aren?t enough to make it through a life. Dorothy Baker?s Young Man with a Horn is widely regarded as the first jazz novel, and it pulses with the music that defined an era. Baker took her inspiration from the artistry?though not the life?of legendary horn player Bix Beiderbecke, and the novel went on to be adapted into a successful movie starring Kirk Douglas, Lauren Bacall, and Doris Day.
£14.44
Oxford University Press The Age of Innocence
Book SynopsisEdith Wharton's most famous novel, written immediately after the end of the First World War, is a brilliantly realized anatomy of New York society in the 1870s. The charming Newland Archer is content to live within its constraints until he meets Ellen Olenska, whose arrival threatens his impending marriage as well as his comfortable future.
£9.49
Picador USA Middlesex
Book Synopsis
£14.25
Vintage Publishing God Bless You Mr Rosewater
Book SynopsisWith the satirical eye of his science fiction author alter ego Kilgore Trout, the author of Slaughterhouse-Five delivers a classic of modern American literature.Eliot Rosewater, President of the fabulously rich Rosewater Foundation and volunteer firefighter, is tortured by an inheritance he doesn't feel that he deserves. After (unfortunately) developing a social conscience, he sets out on a drunken tour of America, unravelling a little more at every stop until his path crosses with the science-fiction writer Kilgore Trout. God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater is one of Kurt Vonnegut's funniest satires, about the pleasures, pains and perversions of people and money, the obsessions of a famous family and the collective madness of a nation.Trade ReviewVonnegut faces up to the less glamorous phenomenon of human mediocrity in this sharp, hilarious, boundlessly humane story. It taught me about compassion and a few things about writing good dialogue -- Michel Faber * Glasgow Herald *Rumbustious stuff... There may be greater novelists than Vonnegut, but there can be a few, if any, with as much good humour and generosity * Guardian *Filled with irony and black humour and a woozy bonhomie * Sunday Times *Wild hilarity * Sunday Telegraph *Extremely funny * Observer *
£9.49
Fitzcarraldo Editions Street of Thieves
Book SynopsisPart political thriller, part road-movie, part romance, the latest novel by Mathias Enard takes us from the violence of Tangier's streets to Barcelona's louche Raval quarter. Street of Thieves is an intense coming-of-age story that delves deep into the brutal realities of the immigrant experience.Trade Review‘[Street of Thieves] confirms Enard as the most brazenly lapel-grabbing French writer since Michel Houellebecq.’ — Leo Robson, New Statesman‘This is what the great contemporary French novel should be. Enard looks at the world as it is: poisoned by religion, poisoned by politics, choking on materialism and dying of globalization. His prose bites, and his characters retain our sympathy however extreme their actions. Enard fuses the traditions of Céline and Camus, but he is his own man.’ — Patrick McGuinness, author of The Last Hundred Days ‘Though his journeys are limited to Morocco, Tunisia and Spain, [Lakhdar's journeys] provide a glimpse into the tremors of the Arab spring, the threat of Islamic fundamentalism, and the indignados movement in Spain. ... Enard is an ambitious writer and his prose, in Charlotte Mandell’s translation, has moments of devastating clarity.’ — Laila Lailami, Guardian‘A remarkable and important novel. I can’t think of any better contemporary writers than Enard.’ — Thom Cuell, Bookmunch‘Street of Thieves is a feat of the imagination propelled by deep cultural familiarity and experience, an extraordinary animation of another person ... I’ll read everything Enard writes from now on.’ — Lee Klein, 3:AM Magazine‘Street of Thieves represents the kind of fiction one hopes will emerge, from Enard or others, after the tumult once known as the Arab Spring has receded a little further into the past.’ — Robert F. Worth, New York Times‘Set against a backdrop of rising Islamic extremism, the Arab Spring, and the Occupy movement, Enard’s latest novel is a howling elegy for thwarted youth.’ — Publishers Weekly
£11.69
Canterbury Classics A Christmas Carol
Book Synopsis
£11.39
Canterbury Classics Iliad Odyssey
Book SynopsisNo home library is complete without the classics! Iliad & Odyssey brings together the two essential Greek epics from the poet Homer in an elegant, leather-bound, omnibus edition-a keepsake to be read and treasured.The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the oldest works of western literature--yet these ancient myths still offer powerful lessons for our times. From the fascinating fall of Troy to Odysseus'' perilous journey home, from the gods and goddesses to the Sirens and the suitors, the events and characters of these epic tales captivate us, teach us, and inspire us. Their influence can be seen far and wide, from James Joyce''s Ulysses to the movie sensation Troy, starring Brad Pitt. Whether you''ve read Homer''s original stories or you''ve only enjoyed their modern-day descendants, you''ll love this Canterbury Classics edition of Iliad & Odyssey. The perfect book to complete any bookshelf, I
£17.99
Vintage Publishing East West
Book SynopsisSalman Rushdie is the author of sixteen novels, including Midnight's Children (for which he won the Booker Prize and the Best of the Booker), The Satanic Verses, and Quichotte (which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize). A former president of PEN American Center, Rushdie was knighted in 2007 for services to literature and was made a Companion of Honour in the Queen's last Birthday Honours list in 2022.Trade ReviewA vindication of the rights of fiction...His story-telling powers are alive and well - his ingenuity, wit, charm and his restless talent for the unexpected * Sunday Times *Literary magic * Literary Review *The most original imagination writing today * Nadine Gordimer *Scheherazade meets Star Trek in these well-honed miniatures from the maestro of the cross-cultural blockbuster * Independent *Home in neither, but poised somewhere in between - Salman Rushdie's volume of short stories on this theme is deft, inventive, entertaining * Financial Times *
£9.49
Cornerstone A Painted House
Book SynopsisJohn Grisham is the author of forty works of fiction and one of non-fiction. His works are translated into forty-two languages. He lives in Virginia.Trade ReviewHis best work * The Times *A beguiling and gracefully constructed novel * Sunday Times *Chararacters no reader will forget. And a drop-dead evocation of a time and a place that mark this novel as a classic * Publishers Weekly *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing The Childrens Book
Book SynopsisFamous author Olive Wellwood writes a special private book, bound in different colours, for each of her children. In their rambling house near Romney Marsh they play in a story-book world - but their lives, and those of their rich cousins and their friends, the son and daughter of a curator at the new Victoria and Albert Museum, are already inscribed with mystery. Each family carries its own secrets. They grow up in the golden summers of Edwardian times, but as the sons rebel against their parents and the girls dream of independent futures, they are unaware that in the darkness ahead they will be betrayed unintentionally by the adults who love them. This is the children''s book.Trade ReviewIntricately worked and sumptuously inlaid novel...seethes and pulses with an entangled life, of the mind and the senses alike. Colour and sensation flood Byatt's writing...she is a master-potter, or magic-working puppeteer -- Boyd Tonkin * Independent *Superlatively displays both enormous reach and tremendous grip...sizzling with ideas and alive with imaginative energy, too...this is the most stirring novel AS Byatt has written since Possession * Sunday Times *It's success is as a novel of ideas, forcefully and often memorably expressed, while the story follows darkening fortunes into a chastened postwar world -- Helen Dunmore * The Times *Compelling...strenuously inclusive and also tremendously enriching - an intricate tale, energetically fashioned from sturdy strands of material, by "a spinning fairy in the attic", an indefatigable storyteller * Irish Times *Astonishing power and resonance -- Jane Shilling * Sunday Telegraph *More than a novel, this is a historical primer, discursive, shimmering with colour and texture, containing stories within stories and giving walk-on parts to luminaries of the age... For fans of Byatt this is better than Possession. A truly great novel * Daily Express *Light and lustrous, commanding and transporting, The Children's Book is superb * Daily Mail *
£10.44
Pan Macmillan Guernica
Book SynopsisA Chicago native, Dave Boling has been a journalist in the Pacific Northwest since 1980. Prior to that, he worked as a logger, iron-worker, boat-builder, bartender, bouncer, short-order cook, painter and college football coach. He lives on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.
£9.49
Cornerstone I Alex Cross
Book SynopsisSOON TO BE AN ORIGINAL AMAZON PRIME SERIES___________________________________''No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.'' LEE CHILD__________________________________They came for his family. Now Detective Alex Cross is out for vengeance.Cross is met with shocking news that his niece has been brutally murdered. He vows to hunt down the killer, and soon learns that his niece was mixed up in one of Washington''s wildest scenes where every fantasy is possible, if you have the credentials to get in.Cross finds himself confronting some very important, very protected, very dangerous people in levels of society where only one thing is certain - they will do anything to keep their secrets safe. As Cross closes in on the killer, he discovers evidence that points to the unimaginable - a revelation that could rock the entire worldTrade ReviewIf there were really superheroes, Alex Cross would be at the head of the class.Cross is such a lovable hero . . . whose compassion warmly balances the icy cruelty of Patterson's villains. -- PUBLISHERS WEEKLYIt's no mystery why James Patterson is the world's most popular thriller writer: his uncanny skill in creating living, breathing characters we truly feel for and seamless, lightning-fast plots. I do this for a living, and he still manages to keep me guessing from the first to last page ... Simply put: Nobody does it better.Behind all the noise and the numbers, we shouldn't forget that no one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves it.James Patterson is The Boss. End of.I wrote, "Along Came a Spider is the best thriller I've come across in many a year. It deserves to be this season's no. 1 bestseller and should instantly make James Patterson a household name." A household name, indeed.Every once in a while a writer comes along and fundamentally changes the way people read. He or she is so bright, so innovative, so industrious that what they envision and create becomes the measure by which all others are judged. In 1993 one such writer - James Patterson - began to do just that ... James Patterson is the gold standard by which all others are judged.[Alex Cross] has become one of the greatest fictional detectives of all time, a character for the ages.Alex Cross is a legend.Patterson boils a scene down to the single, telling detail, the element that defines a character or moves a plot along. It's what fires off the movie projector in the reader's mind.Patterson knows where our deepest fears are Patterson knows where our deepest fears are buried... there's no stopping his imagination.buried... there's no stopping his imagination.Patterson is in a class by himself.Sharp, sassy and guaranteed to send shivers down your spine, this is a tense thrillerCross is one of the best and most likeable characters in the modern thriller.
£9.49
Vintage Publishing A Slipping Down Life
Book SynopsisRead Pulitzer Prize-winning, Sunday Times bestselling author Anne Tyler''s raw exploration of the power of youth and fate.In a small Southern town, shy teenager Evie Decker becomes obsessed with local rock singer Bertram ''Drumstrings'' Casey, and decides to take her life into her own hands. When she manages to meet him, she bursts out of her lonely shell and their two lives become unforgettably entwined.**ANNE TYLER HAS SOLD OVER 8 MILLION BOOKS WORLDWIDE**''Anne Tyler takes the ordinary, the small, and makes them sing'' Rachel Joyce''She knows all the secrets of the human heart'' Monica Ali ''A masterly author'' Sebastian Faulks''I love Anne Tyler. I''ve read every single book she''s written'' Jacqueline WilsonTrade ReviewWickedly good * John Updike *Her brilliance in capturing the ripples on the surface of family life gives her a claim to be the Jane Austen of our age * Allison Pearson, Daily Mail *Anne Tyler is inventive, funny and wise. Her fiction is magically alive to the quirks and coincidences of fate * Guardian *Wickedly good * John Updike *Her brilliance in capturing the ripples on the surface of family life gives her a claim to be the Jane Austen of our age * Allison Pearson, Daily Mail *
£9.49
Vintage Publishing Eleven Kinds of Loneliness
Book SynopsisRichard Yates was born in 1926 in New York and lived in California. His prize-winning stories began to appear in 1953 and his first novel, Revolutionary Road, was nominated for the National Book Award in 1961. He is the author of eight other works, including the novels A Good School, The Easter Parade, and Disturbing the Peace, and two collections of short stories, Eleven Kinds of Loneliness and Liars in Love. He died in 1992.Trade ReviewThe most perceptive author of the twentieth century * The Times *Yates is a realist par excellence, the natural heir to Hemingway's pared-to-the-bones style and the antecedent of Carver's flat minimalism. There is something else though: a kind of transparency, almost a translucency, that owes more to Fitzgerald, his great literary hero... Read and weep -- Kate Atkinson * Guardian *Yates created what is almost the New York equivalent of Dubliners * New York Times *Eloquent and powerful... Wryly funny even when he's quietly tearing your heart out * Harper's *Extravagantly gifted... Yates' eye and ear are unsurpassed; I know of no writer whose senses are in more admirable condition. It is they that make his characters live, make these stories move and beat - they, and the sure perfection of his writing * Esquire *
£9.49
Headline Publishing Group Career Girls
Book SynopsisFrom the bestselling Louise Bagshawe, now writing as Louise MenschSavour the scandalous story of how the Career Girls first made it to the top... Blonde, beautiful, upper-class Rowena Gordon is the perfect English rose. Topaz Rossi is a feisty, Italian-American red-head from Brooklyn. Both are determined and talented. And there''s nothing they wouldn''t do for each other. Until Rowena hooks up with Topaz''s boyfriend. Now, years later, they are star career girls at the top of their game; Topaz in journalism, Rowena in the music industry. When their paths cross again, Topaz is not about to just forgive and forget. She''ll do everything in her power to shatter Rowena''s success. And Rowena will do anything to stop her...Trade ReviewA classic of the genre - Daily ExpressOne hell of a read - CompanyHer novels are action-packed; her heroines gorgeous; and her writing punchy... I love it - Daily Mail
£9.49
Little, Brown Book Group The St. Tropez Lonely Hearts Club
Book SynopsisContessa Carlotta di Ponti, stunningly beautiful and filthy rich, has finally escaped her abusive marriage and is looking to find true love in St. Tropez. The party season kicks off with a spectacular bash at billionaire Harry Silver''s palatial mansion, but tragedy soon strikes. Could seemingly innocuous events - a bad oyster, a fatal wasp sting, a faulty funicular - mean something more sinister for the bejewelled citizens of St. Tropez?It is up to glamorous detective Gabrielle Poulpe to save the day and find the murderer in their midst or life on St. Tropez as its residents know it could be over forever. Can Gabrielle find the culprit before it''s too late?Join the wealthy and the fabulous in the ultimate playground of the rich and the famous, for sun, sin, sex and scandal as they battle a threat from within...Trade ReviewRacy, funny and completely over the top. I loved it -- Andrew Pierce * Daily Mail *The actress's trademark humour shines through in this fabulously over-the-top novel * Hello! *Fabulously witty ... If you fancy a side serving of sin with your summer reads, this might just be your guilty pleasure * OK Magazine *Sun, sex and lots of delicious scandals from the queen of glam * Heat *The book is full of sun, sin, sex, scandal and humour * Bella *Fizzes and froths like a champagne fountain; in its wickedly drawn world of grotesques and gigolos even murder has a certain style * Saga *
£6.74
Headline Publishing Group Six Tudor Queens Katherine of Aragon The True
Book Synopsis*A Sunday Times Top Ten Bestseller*Katherine of Aragon: The True Queen by bestselling historian Alison Weir, author of The Lost Tudor Princess, is the first in a spellbinding six novel series about Henry VIII''s Queens. Alison takes you on an engrossing journey at Katherine''s side and shows her extraordinary strength of character and intelligence. Ideal for fans of Philippa Gregory and Elizabeth Chadwick. ''Shatters the many myths about Henry VIII''s long-suffering first wife'' Tracy Borman''Weir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life'' GuardianA Spanish princess. Raised to be modest, obedient and devout. Destined to be an English Queen.Six weeks from home across treacherous seas, everything is different: the language, the food, the weather. And for her there is no comfort in any of it. At sixteen-years-old, Catalina is alone among strangers.Trade ReviewIn this, the first novel of the Six Tudor Queens series, Alison Weir brings Katherine of Aragon dazzlingly to life. Based upon extensive new research, it is a portrayal that shatters the many myths about Henry VIII's long-suffering first wife. Far from being the one-dimensional victim of history, she emerges as a charismatic, indomitable and courageous heroine whose story never fails to enthral -- Tracy BormanA tender understanding of and genuine sympathy for this proud, much-loved and honourable Queen... I was gripped [from] start to finish -- Mavis CheekWeir is excellent on the little details that bring a world to life * Guardian *Yet again, Alison Weir has managed to intertwine profound historical knowledge with huge emotional intelligence, to compose a work that throws light on an endlessly fascinating historical figure. Yet her real gift in all of this is making it feel so fresh and alive -- Earl SpencerThis exquisite book charts the rise and fall of Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine . . . A fascinating insight into this period of our history. Weir's undeniable strength is her immaculate description, enabling the reader to be transported back to Tudor England * Sun *Weir manages to untangle the complex web of 16th-century politics, shown through Katherine's duties as ambassador, and her astute reading of the games being played. This adds greatly to the heft of the character, demonstrating what a competent woman she was becoming * Herald Scotland *Katherine of Aragon, The True Queen is a true tour de force. Finely crafted, this novel is wonderful historical fiction and an outstanding introduction to the Six Tudor Queens series * Queen Anne Boleyn Blog *Alison Weir clearly admires her heroine . . . meticulously researched * The Times *A majestic book! ... I felt every one of [Katherine's] emotions: her joy, her heart-wrenching despair and the passionate loyalty she shows to Henry. The bravery she displays is incredible and she must have been one hell of a Queen. It is beautifully written and captivating with so much attention to detail, that the Tudor court came alive in every sense * Baattyaboutbooks Blog *Captivating. . . The way that Katherine comes alive on the page is credit to the author who has such a breadth of knowledge about this Tudor period that it's a real pleasure to read her fictional work * Jaffareadstoo Blog *This well-researched and engrossing read gives a new perspective on the long-suffering first wife * Good Housekeeping *Known for bestselling historical biographies, Alison Weir is in command of her detail . . . her handling of Katherine's misery and dignified response to her predicament is very touching -- Elizabeth Buchan * Daily Mail *The authentic voice of Katherine rings true throughout. It is a study of a woman who inspires admiration as well as sympathy . . . a fitting tribute to a queen who was unduly wronged by history * The Lady magazine *This ambitious, engrossing novel tells Katherine's story from that moment, through her brief and controversial marriage to Prince Arthur and then to his brother, the handsome, gallant Henry VIII . . . Fascinating * S Magazine (Sunday Express) *Alison ensures that we not only come away knowing more of the real Katherine, we understand more of how it felt to be her. . . The author really enables us to feel the claustrophobia and paranoia as Katherine tries to make decisions for her day to day life on snippets of news from her advisors - advisors she begins to realise may not be telling her the truth * The Book Bag *Alison Weir brings Henry VIII's first queen to life, revealing a strong, spirited and intelligent woman fighting for her rights and those of her daughter * Choice magazine *Weir's opening foray into the life of Katherine of Aragon presents Henry's first and most enduring marriage from a refreshingly new and utterly gripping perspective * Lancashire Evening Post *Engrossing and meticulously researched . . . Katherine's life and world are brought vividly to life * Choice magazine *
£10.44
Orion Publishing Co Xeelee Vengeance
Book SynopsisHalf a million years in the future, on a dead, war-ravaged world at the centre of the Galaxy, there is a mile-high statue of Michael Poole.Poole, born on Earth in the fourth millennium, was one of mankind''s most influential heroes. He was not a warrior, not an emperor. He was an engineer, a builder of wormhole transit systems. But Poole''s work would ultimately lead to a vast and destructive conflict, a million-year war between humanity and the enigmatic, powerful aliens known as the Xeelee. The Xeelee won, but at a huge cost. And, defeated in a greater war, the Xeelee eventually fled the universe. Most of them.A handful were left behind, equipped with time travel capabilities, their task to tidy up: to reorder history more to the Xeelee''s liking. That million-year war with humankind was one blemish. It had to be erased. And in order to do that, a lone Xeelee was sent back in time to remove Michael Poole from history . . .Trade ReviewThis impressive collection is a fine introduction to Baxter's fascinating, complex world * SFX *A sense of grandeur few other SF novelists can even hope to match. * SFX MAGAZINE *If you're in search of some gripping science fiction utilising big concepts and backed by brilliant writing, look no further than Endurance. 10/10 * Starburst Magazine *Sense-of-wonder is clearly Baxter's middle name. * CONCATENATION *I love to dive into the future and Stephen Baxter is an author that really delivers for me as a reader. Here within this book the reader is treated to a whole host of short stories that add flavour and background to enrich Stephen's Universe. As with his other books, its well written, delivers some great characters and of course a whole host of tales from different parts of his timeline in order to get a fuller picture. * Falcata Times *a...terrific compilation of stories, best read as a companion to the novels, but strong enough to stand on its own. * Daily Mail *
£9.49
Hot Key Books Maggot Moon
Book SynopsisA starkly original and heartbreaking tale of friendship and rebellionTrade ReviewDazzling, chilling, breathtaking. A perfect book. -- Meg Rosoff, award-winning author of HOW I LIVE NOWThe outstanding teenage novel of the autumn, arresting and original and written in a singular voice... -- Lorna Bradbury * The Telegraph *startlingly original, horribly gripping ... an inspirational [story] which deserves many prizes. -- Amanda Craig * The Times *This novel is a celebration of the refusal of the human spirit to be crushed and in Standish, Gardner has created a hero to be cherished. -- Sally Morris * Daily Mail *... a unique and compelling read * The Bookseller (Children's Booksellers' Choice: September) *Maggot Moon is a fast-paced, tough and heartbreaking story. I loved it * We Love This Book *... Maggot Moon is an unusual, deeply moving and thought-provoking story, which has clear potential to become a modern classic * Booktrust's 'September book we like' *... a remarkable novel * Books for Keeps *This novel will just blow you away -- Emma Louise Pennell * Waterstones Chichester *a story that is rich in drama and ideas -- Julia Eccleshare * Lovereading4kids *Quite simply, it is a book you have to read. * Bookbag *Fans of the dystopia genre and conspiracy theorists alike will be flipping the pages of this gem. The story moves at a gripping pace with clever use of language, providing vivid characterization ad setting, while the unexpected twists in the plot will leave readers stunned * Recommended Reads, Children’s Books Ireland *[Standish's] use of language because of (not despite of) his dyslexia is idiosyncratic poetry, full of fizzing wordplay and deadpan humour. Gardner's novels have always been thought-provoking but she flexes her writing muscles here and Standish is an utterly unique creation, impossible not to love. * The Scotsman *A novel for the square pegs, and for those who try to make them fit. Readers need to come to this book armed with imagination - which is kind of the point. It's part-fable, part-dystopian, and wholly brilliant * Big Issue Scotland *
£7.59
Simon & Schuster Ltd The Last Piece of My Heart
Book Synopsis'Wonderfully heartfelt... her best book yet!' heat, five star review 'A gorgeous, warm novel' ADELE PARKSWhen life feels like a puzzle, sometimes it's the small pieces that make up the bigger picture... Join Bridget on a journey to put her world back together. A successful travel journalist, Bridget has ambitions to turn her quirky relationship blog about the missing pieces of her heart into a book. But after a spate of rejections from publishers, she accepts an alternative proposition.Nicole Dupré died leaving behind a bestselling novel and an incomplete sequel. Tasked with finishing the book, Bridget is thankful to have her foot in the publishing door, even if it means relocating to Cornwall for the summer and answering to Nicole's grieving husband, Charlie... ‘You’ll laugh, you’ll cry and be hooked frTrade ReviewPraise for Paige Toon ‘You’ll love it, cry buckets and be uplifted’ MARIAN KEYES ‘Tender, heartbreaking and magical’ GIOVANNA FLETCHER ‘Heart-warming, wistful and full of joy’ LINDSEY KELK ‘Poignant and lovely, warm and wise’ MILLY JOHNSON ‘Family secrets, new horizons and a gorgeous continent-crossing romance... prepare to be swept away!’ LUCY DIAMOND ‘Warm, inspiring, like a holiday mood in book form’ MHAIRI MCFARLANE ‘For smart, romantic fiction, look no further than the new book from bestselling Paige Toon’ RED ‘Achingly romantic and brilliantly written... Five Stars!’ HEAT ‘Simply gorgeous’ SUN ‘You won’t be able to put down this emotional read’ CLOSER ‘Paige Toon is the queen of will-they/won't-they romance, setting up an ending that will leave you in bits’ SUNDAY EXPRESS ‘Full of living-in-the-moment and what-might-have-been contrasts, this tender read pulls at the heart strings’ FABULOUS
£8.99
Little, Brown Book Group The Ink Black Heart
Book SynopsisWhen frantic, dishevelled Edie Ledwell appears in the office begging to speak to her, private detective Robin Ellacott doesn''t know quite what to make of the situation. The co-creator of a popular cartoon, The Ink Black Heart, Edie is being persecuted by a mysterious online figure who goes by the pseudonym of Anomie. Edie is desperate to uncover Anomie''s true identity.Robin decides that the agency can''t help with this - and thinks nothing more of it until a few days later, when she reads the shocking news that Edie has been tasered and then murdered in Highgate Cemetery, the location of The Ink Black Heart.Robin and her business partner Cormoran Strike become drawn into the quest to uncover Anomie''s true identity. But with a complex web of online aliases, business interests and family conflicts to navigate, Strike and Robin find themselves embroiled in a case that stretches their powers of deduction to the limits - and which threatens them in new anTrade ReviewA superlative piece of crime fiction * SUNDAY TIMES *The longest [Galbraith] yet ... repays the commitment * GUARDIAN *There can be no denying [Galbraith's] formidable talents as a crime writer * DAILY MAIL *[A] strong, page-turning plot * SCOTSMAN *Satisfyingly labyrinthine ... one to be savoured * HEAT *A clever mystery that ticks all the boxes * SUN *Fans will be as entranced as ever * MAIL ON SUNDAY *Impossible to put down * ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY *A rip-roaring read, a big, sprawling, at-times electrifying thriller, with the expanse and sweeping momentum of a classic 19th century "social novel" ... all crafted with impeccable precision * IRISH INDEPENDENT *A tightly executed, engrossing murder mystery ... [Galbraith] just gets better with every book * SUNDAY INDEPENDENT (IRELAND) *An engrossing feast of a whodunnit * BEST *With its striking Gothic underpinnings, the novel is a synthesis of traditional and modern elements, delivered with panache * FINANCIAL TIMES *
£16.14
